Personal development sessions and groups

Get the most from your studies and personal life

Why come along?

Student Wellbeing Services run a personal development
programme to help you get the most from your studies and personal life. Some of these are workshops and information or
taster sessions – you only need to book where it says so. Others are groups which run over a period of
weeks.

We know people can feel nervous about joining a group, but
feedback we've had from students say it has helped them to feel more supported,
more confident and better connected with others. It's sometimes just helpful to know you're not
alone in your difficulties.

These groups are popular, so when you sign up you'll be
asked to make a commitment to coming along regularly. To help develop a safe
and secure space, these groups are closed to new participants once they have
begun. This does not apply to the
Global Buddies International Student Group.

We'd love to see you.

Managing
low mood – Mood boost

The mood boost course
is all about learning new skills and tools which you can use to
feel better, happier, more relaxed and confident and less sad, irritated
or worried. This course runs over four weekly sessions and encourages
you to try new tools and put them into practice so that you
make a start on building new mood boost habits.

Managing stress and anxiety

All of us experience stress and anxiety from time to time. For some of us our stress and anxiety levels are more constant and can get in the way of healthy day to day functioning. Coming to a group can be anxiety provoking in itself so we are offering effective ways to manage your levels of stress and anxiety in a lecture-style format. THERE WILL BE NO REQUIREMENT FOR YOU TO SPEAK in this setting. Rather it is passing on some tried and tested strategies to take with you and practice in your day to day life.

Women's group

The Women's Group meet regularly during term time on a Wednesday. The group opens for new members at the beginning of each term but is closed after the first two sessions. Members are encouraged to make regular commitment to attend for the term.

Alex Way - Women's group facilitator

Men’s Group

This group is for all male students (including LGBTQ+). It is a friendly and confidential group. We are a male-only group because as men we often struggle to reach out and open up about emotional issues.

Our men’s group provides a confidential and respectful environment.

We sign a confidentiality statement not to talk about the identity or content presented by other members outside of the group.

We can comment on the way we are impacted by what others say, but we agree not give each other advice. • We own what we say by avoiding generalisations.

We only share what we feel moved to share.

We have the right not to share something, and we agree to treat each other with respect and honesty.

In the feedback we get from members, they value the group because of the depth of our conversations. The group is facilitated by Alex Moseley and Philipp Grote, but all content is led by the members of the group.

If you are interested in joining us, send us an email for full details. The group remains open until we reach full capacity of about 11 regular members.

“I would say that it is a pretty relaxed, down to earth place, and you can say about anything that is on your mind.”

“It is a fantastic place to meet different types of people, all from different backgrounds and experiences. Has broadened my understanding of myself and others.”

“We discuss our problems, worries and issues and how we feel about them. This then often leads to a resounding level of resonance and understanding.”

Global Buddies

Welcome to the University of Plymouth!

Want to make new friends?Want to enjoy chatting to others?Want to make the most out of life in the UK?

Then come and join our Global Buddies International Student Group. This group is open to ALL international students at the University of Plymouth.

Just come along to one of the Wednesday afternoon sessions between 15:30 - 17:00 in the following venues:

31 January 2018 - Drake's Cafe

7 February 2018 - RLB 206

14 February 2018 - RLB 206

21 February 2018 - RLB 303

28 February 2018 - RLB 304

7 March 2018 - RLB 206

14 March 2018 - RLB 206

21 March 2018 - RLB 206

Look after your mate

Students often come to us with concerns about their friends and peers. This workshop, developed by Student Minds, will give you the necessary tips and tools to support a friend in need: spotting the signs that your friend is struggling, how to start a conversation and support them and when to signpost for further help – as well as looking after yourself in the process.